


Too Much Love

by BoWritesStuff



Series: Oneshots! [33]
Category: Game Grumps
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-16
Updated: 2018-08-16
Packaged: 2019-06-28 08:54:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,624
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15703932
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BoWritesStuff/pseuds/BoWritesStuff





	Too Much Love

“C’mon just one peck on the cheek. It can’t hurt.” Arin teased. They had just finished the last episode of the day, and Arin’s little tease was likely going to be the short audio clip at the end of the episode. Dan forced a giggle, and Arin turned off the recording. 

There had been something different for the last few days. Although it wasn’t something too extreme, it was still something that Danny noticed and cared about. When they were recording, and sometimes even after recordings, Arin would ask for kisses. Although it was a running joke both in and out of the recording room, they had gotten unusually common. Almost every episode made in the past three days had an audio clip of Arin’s soft voice begging; “Just one, Suzy won’t mind, you know that.” 

And Danny wasn’t the only one noticing. The fandom had exploded, all of them scrambling to try to find some meaning behind it. Twitter had entire threads on theories why Arin was suddenly so much more affectionate, and not only that, romantically demanding. Tumblr had thousands of new fanfictions based on the audios of Arin asking Danny for a kiss. Youtube now had a fifteen minute long compilation of Arin asking Dan for kisses. 

It wasn’t that it really bothered Dan. Arin was always joking around, always trying to push the limits for their friendship. It was just that… now everyone seemed to expect something. Something else to happen. Not only the lovelies, who actually expected a kiss, but also Arin. There would be a spark of something… different in his eyes whenever he teased Dan. And Suzy, too. There was something even more watchful about her lately. 

It was like everyone was in on a practical joke except for Dan. 

When Arin stood up to turn off the recording and the audio, Dan finally asked the question. 

“Why are you asking me to kiss you all the time?” It sounded like a silly thing to be bothered by, but it did. Arin paused before turning off the gaming console and turning around. It seemed like he was gaining the courage to say something. 

“I thought it was just something we did.” His voice was obvious and high with nervousness. It only confused Dan even more. 

“Yeah, sometimes. But this has been happening… a lot lately. It’s not bad, I just wanna…” Danny stopped. What did he want to know? Why Arin kept joking about it? Because it’s a joke. 

“I…” Arin trailed off. There was a tension in the room, something off balanced. Arin was way more stressed than Dan thought he would be. There was an imbalance. Something was off. There was something that Arin was trying to hide. 

“I won’t be angry. Whatever it is. I just…” this conversation had taken a completely different turn from what Dan thought it would take. He thought that Arin would just laugh, and apologize for making so many jokes. But this… felt stiff. It felt so unlike Arin. It wasn’t any Arin he knew. Not the funny Arin that he knew in front of the recording equipment, not the laidback Arin he knew on vacation, not the creative one, not the sad one. 

Something entirely new was happening. 

“Promise?” Arin whispers, just loud enough that Dan can make out what he said. He stands up, afraid to step towards his best friend. There was so much weight on the words. Was there something so bad that Arin had to tell him that he had to promise not to get upset?

“Yeah, dude. There’s nothing that you can do that’ll really… push me away.” Dan says in a soft voice, trying to calm him down. Arin turns around, making eye contact for a few moments before taking a deep breath. 

“I dunno man. It’s… I know that I’m married and all that but it’s been cleared with Suzy.” Arin mutters, shrugging. For a moment, Dan’s confused. 

Then everything clicks together. 

“So… it’s not a joke.” It’s more of a statement than a question. Arin nods. 

The silence is crushing them. 

“You and Suzy are…” Dan doesn’t want to think of his two best friends splitting up over him, but Arin is quick to wipe away any fears. 

“Oh, we’re fine. Suzy knows. She’s fine with it. She actually… was the one that suggested that I tell you.” 

Everything starts to make much more sense. The knowing look that Suzy had, the jokes, everything. 

“I’m flattered, but you know…” Dan hates to reject him. Arin’s his best friend, hell, he’s handsome and funny and the best man Dan’s ever met. But… he’s a man. 

“Yeah, I guess I just wanted to get it off of my chest.” Arin sighs, and Dan can sense the crushing sadness in it, but when he looks up there’s a smile on his face. “God, it’s nice to get it out of my system, y’know?” 

“Yeah, I feel ya. I was starting to wonder if I was going crazy or somethin’.” Dan can see the strain behind the smile, and he can see the sparkle of tears in Arin’s eyes, but he isn’t really sure what to do. Should he leave it to Suzy? Would it even help if he tried? 

“This isn’t going to change anything, right?” There’s sudden fear in Arin’s voice. 

“Of course not!” 

-

Dan can start to feel the pressure on him. Arin was surprisingly good at hiding it, though. There was a strain starting on their friendship, and it wasn’t coming from Danny. It was coming from Arin. It was like he was trying to cut off all feelings from Dan, not just the romantic ones. It made everything feel awkward. 

He asked Suzy about how Arin was holding up at home, and she just shook her head. 

“I don’t think… It’s personal.” Suzy tried to explain. Dan nodded. Arin was coming to work with less and less sleep in his system, and he looked absolutely exhausted.

“If there’s anything I can do to help…” Dan trailed off. 

He was the one that started the problem. 

How in the world would he be able to solve it? 

-

He thought about the last few weeks in his head before he went to sleep. 

Arin was so tired. So drained. He was trying to keep his romantic feelings out of everything, but… he was just tearing everything apart. He was trying his best, but he was confused about where platonic ended and romantic began in their relationship. 

And so was Dan. 

The more that he thought about it, why didn’t he like Arin? He was straight, but there were definitely moments where he wouldn’t mind being bi or gay. Maybe he even wanted to be bi. And how was he sure that he was straight? He always limited his romantic feelings to just women. If he just… relaxed would he be able to love Arin? He sighed. 

When he thought about it, a relationship with Arin wouldn’t change much. 

He texted Brian. 

hey, you still awake?

Of course. What’s wrong?

you know all that stuff going on the office right now. i was just thinking. 

About what?

if i were to be bi, or gay, i would be all about arin, y’know?

You already are all about Arin. 

but im not bi. i just want to be. 

That’s… You’re an idiot.

what?

Talk to Arin about it. 

-

Danny asked for Arin to come to the office early, and he was pacing around in the empty building by himself for the greater part of an hour. What was he going to say? It had been weeks since Arin confessed, and now? 

Arin walked through the door, and Dan’s heart started hammering. Both of them paused from what they were doing, staring at each other. 

The world hushed, waiting for the words that Dan was about to say. 

“Hey Arin.” 

“Hey Dan.” 

Now, Dan was the one who was nervous. He took a deep breath. 

“I don’t know if I’m straight.” 

Instead of looking happy, Arin immediately looked worried and guilty. 

“You don’t need to do this-” 

“No really! I was giving it some thought and… like, I wouldn’t be… upset. If I were dating a guy.” Arin slowly nodded. 

“Okay.” 

“I just need some time.” 

“Of course.” 

“And maybe some help. Figuring out all of this stuff.” Dan was fidgeting with his hands, and Arin slowly started to form a plan. 

“Figuring out what?” 

“Like… I don’t know. Do you feel like you love guys the same way you love girls?” Dan asked, one of the many questions that he had been thinking for the last few days. 

“Yeah, pretty much. I like girls and guys, but… sometimes there’s different things I like about them. But liking them is about the same.” Arin explained. Dan was relieved to hear the confidence in Arin’s voice. It settled his whirling thoughts a little. 

“Okay, so… before you knew you liked guys, did all your relationships with girls kinda seem… forced?” Dan winced. He didn’t mean anything against Suzy, and both of them knew that. 

“Sometimes. But it was more like I was forcing myself to give all the attention to girls. The attention seemed forced. I still love Suzy more than anything, but y’know. It’s kinda like seeing a cute girl while you’re in a relationship. You just can’t stop her from being cute. And…” Arin trails off, “It’s confusing.” 

“Yeah, tell me about it.” Dan muttered. 

Silence settled around them. 

“Do you think that… our… interactions. Do you think they were kinda gay?” 

“Definitely. Why do you think we’re here right now?” 

And the two of them laughed, relieved to have each other back.


End file.
